This is my own take on world, national, state, AND local events. It may seem scatter-brained for me to talk about Iraq, gay rights issues, and the state of the Democratic Party in Central Orange County all in the same week... But I like to think of it as an eclectic mix of various important issues.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Is the FBI Harrassing Muslims at UC Irvine?

"There was a confrontation, if you will," said UCI Police Chief Paul Henisey, who is investigating the incident to determine if any crime was committed. The students "demanded to know why this person was following them, then the person left," he said.

So what happened Monday night? A UCI economics student claims that he was just taking down a protest wall when a surprise visitor appeared. At the Irvine campus, protesters with the Muslim Student Union erect a wall every day that symbolizes the "apartheid wall" that the Israeli government is trying to erect. However due to university policy on large displays, the Muslim Student Union agrees to take it down ever night. And when the economics student was taking down the wall, something strange happened.

UCI economics student Yasser Ahmed said he was driving a borrowed truck up onto the Ring Road near the library loading dock Monday night, on intending to haul away the wall, when he noticed a silver Ford Taurus with blackened windows following him.

Ahmed said he stopped the truck in view of other campus observers and stood in front of the Taurus, trying to look through the blackened windshield and asking the driver to identify himself. When he would not speak, Ahmed said he tried to take a photo of the car's license plate with his camera phone.

"He could have just rolled down his window and said, 'I'm an FBI agent,' and that would have been the end of it," Ahmed said. "There was nothing improper going on."

Instead, according to Ahmed, the driver revved his engine threateningly and began pushing him backward with the car's front bumper. Ahmed said he then began calling for help, and dozens of other students ran over to assist.

"I was frightened," Ahmed said. "I felt I could have been killed or seriously injured if I hadn't jumped out of the way."

If this is true, then we need to be afraid. VERY AFRAID. Afraid of our own government.

So is this what really happened? Campus police confirmed that the mysterious man was an FBI agent. But why would an FBI agent be at UCI in the middle of the night?

The next morning, Ahmed said, he went to the campus police station and was told by the police chief that the man in the car was an FBI agent.

Ahmed, who lives with his family in Orange County, laughed at the idea the FBI could be investigating him.

Sociology student [Marya] Bangee said UCI's Muslim Student Union opposes violence and its members are not terrorists.

"All we do is speak out against injustice," Bangee said, though she said she believes the FBI has been spying on students.

So why were FBI agents on the UCI campus Monday night? And why were they driving around the Muslim Student Union's protest wall? And if the FBI agent in question truly did attempt to ram down the economics student with his car, why did he feel that he had license to do so? I thought that these agents were supposed to enforce the law. When our government suddenly begin breaking its own laws?

No comments:

About Me

I am a student, an activist, and a blogger. I enjoy good books (e.g. Atwood, Eco, Morrison), great music (anything from Celia Cruz to the Grateful Dead), and new adventures. When I am not studying or enjoying other aspects of my life, I am also a hard-core progressive Democrat. I do my best to support great candidates and push forward great ideas.